Avoidance
by lanwut
Summary: Sweden begins to distance himself from Finland, and Finland finds a way to bring them closer than they were before. Warnings: this is pretty much just fluffiness.


Writing fluffiness like this usually makes me happy, so please try to enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Now slightly edited.

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**Avoidance**

Despite sharing the same house for... Sweden didn't know how long, but it had been a long time, and having been husband and 'wife' for the same amount of time, he didn't actually know if Finland even _liked_ him. Sometimes he would grow so anxious that he'd have to leave to regain his composure, of course, his absence only made Finland more skittish because he didn't know what Sweden was up to.

Over the last few years, he had found that he could steal hugs sometimes (rarely) or if he was lucky, a chaste kiss. For that he burned all the more afterwards. But usually, even if the smaller nation was given ample warning, he would go completely tense, still, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. It hurt a bit more every time it happened, but he tried to not let if affect him too much. He thought it would just take time for the smaller nation to become accustomed to him, but the longer they were together, the more stagnant their relationship (if it could be called that) became.

It hurt unspeakably for Sweden, not just emotionally but physically as well. His chest felt horribly tight almost constantly when he was around Finland, and his throat felt like it was full of cotton, or just closed right up, and he could barely speak. Unable to take the physical with the emotional, he began to distance himself from Tino, only seeing him at meals before making some sort of excuse that would allow him to leave the house, or at the very least, allow him to leave the smaller nation's presence. Sweden was aware that this arrangement wouldn't last long, though, but he didn't want to look at Finland's frightened face anymore. As more time passed, he ran out of plausible reasons to leave his company, and now just left, and usually sat by himself outside, deep in thought. He would brainstorm ideas, some radically impossible, for how he could possibly rectify his life with Tino, or if it was even possible. More often as of late, he was becoming increasingly convinced that it was _impossible_.

It was during one of these times when he was just sitting on the ground, legs loosely drawn up, elbows resting on his knees, that he felt a light brush on his shoulder that couldn't have been Hana-Tamago. He jerked in surprise and was met with a soft 'eep!' that made him sigh. He remained seated and Tino didn't move or say anything for several minutes, just stood there with his hand on Berwald's shoulder. Finally, the smaller man moved to stand in front of him, then knelt so they could see eye to eye.

"Sweden... have you been avoiding me?" it was barely a question, more an accusation in a voice that was barely even and Berwald couldn't meet his wide indigo eyes, couldn't stand to see the accusations flying through them.

"Why?" his voice shook now and Sweden was at a loss to convey what he felt he needed to say. He couldn't quite get his exact feelings into words, his exact reasons, but he finally murmured, "D'n't like see'ng y'sc'red." [Don't like seeing you scared.] He finally raised his gaze to look at Finland and was surprised (shocked) to see the smaller nation almost in _tears_. Had his absence truly hurt him that much? He watched Tino shift his weight nervously before he crawled _into his lap_, thin arms wrapping around Berwald with previously unknown strength.

"I liked Sweden's hugs and kisses though," his voice was muffled against Sweden's chest and the large man was suddenly glad Finland couldn't see him because he could feel the blood rushing to his face. Slowly, he looped his arms around the slim body in his lap, relishing the feeling of a warm body so close to him again. They sat like that for a while, just enjoying each other's company. Berwald went still when Tino turned his face up, cheekbones dusted in pink and licked his lips before opening his mouth to ask, "Will you kiss me like he used to?"

Berwald smiled like he hadn't smiled in years and bent down to brush his lips across Finland's, gratified when he felt Tino's mouth move on his own. The kiss was gentle, no invasion of mouths or anything particularly daring for Finland, but it was beautiful none the less for both of them. Sweden pulled back for a moment but was unable to keep himself from returning for more again, and again, and _again_, until Finland was breathless and he felt like his heart would burst from happiness.

The pair of them stayed outside like that for a few hours, and Sweden was perfectly content staying outside for longer, but he could feel Tino shivering from the light chill that pervaded the air. So, he fixed his hold on his wife and stood in one fluid motion to Tino's consternation.

"I can walk on my own, Sweden!" he insisted, but he didn't move, so Sweden kept strolling towards their house. He could already see (if he squinted) their dog on the porch, tail wagging and waiting (impatiently) for them. Climbing the steps, he managed to free a hand to open the door for the three of them and after shutting the door, he sat them down on the couch, unwilling to part with the body he hadn't held in months.

They sat in relative quiet, kissing, touching tentatively and just relaxing until Finland fell asleep in the crook of Sweden's shoulder, who picked him up carefully to avoid waking him and laid him down in his bed. He stood there for a moment before deciding to not push his incredible luck and retreated to his room down the hall to go to sleep. Berwald changed into his sleep wear and laid down, quickly falling asleep.

In the other room, at midnight, Finland woke up and at his bladder's fervent insistence he quickly trotted to the washroom to relieve himself. When he climbed back into his bed he found himself unable to become warm again and was considering just getting up and getting an early (very early) start on the day when he thought of his... husband? His groggy mind thought that he would be warm and put his body into motion. Without much more thought, he had the door to Sweden's bedroom open and was crawling under the covers to snuggle with the larger man. Tino didn't know it, but for a moment, Berwald's eye cracked open to see what was happening, and the sight that met his eyes made him smile and wrap an arm around his spouse.

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Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.


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